Region 6 Talented and Gifted Mission Statement

A high quality educational program must address the needs of all students. Regional School District 6 supports policy and practices that enhance the education of all students while responding to the unique needs of students with exceptional gifts and talents, equipping and empowering them to engage in intellectual inquiry and personal growth.

According to Dr. Joseph Renzulli's 3-ring definition of giftedness, the following behavioral manifestations occur in certain people, at certain times, under certain circumstances.

Above average ability (general)* high levels of abstract thought* adaptation to novel situations* rapid and accurate retrieval of information

Above average ability (specific)* applications of general abilities to specific area of knowledge * capacity to sort out relevant from irrelevant information * capacity to acquire and use advanced knowledge and strategies while pursuing a problem

Task commitment* capacity for high levels of interest and enthusiasm* hard work and determination in a particular area* self-confidence and drive to achieve* ability to identify significant problems within an area of study* setting high standards for one's work

Creativity* fluency, flexibility and originality of thought* open to new experiences and ideas* willing to take risks* sensitive to aesthetic characteristics

The Identification Process

Gifted Student Identification, as mandated by the State of Connecticut, is a multi-criteria process. A Nomination Committee consisting of teachers and administrators meets at each school to review a variety of criteria that include test scores, progress reports, student work samples, interests, and gifted rating scales. The individual categories are not weighted. Each piece of information is carefully discussed in order to form a detailed profile of each child as a learner. The committee decides whether "gifted" identification is appropriate, or whether the nominated student may be watched for further review at a later time.

The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM)

The Schoolwide Enrichment Model, or SEM (Renzulli, 1977; Renzulli & Reis, 1985, 1997) is designed to provide ALLstudents the opportunity to engage in enriched and stimulating learning within and outside of the regular classroom curriculum. In Region 6, all students have access to a broad range of enrichment activities including, but not limited to, the following:

In Region 6, identified gifted students in grades 5-8 are offered an additional academic enrichment opportunity beyond the regular school program. The program incorporates the Enrichment Triad Model, developed by Dr. Joseph Renzulli in 1977. This model consists of three types of activities.

Type I ActivitiesType I enrichment is designed to expose students to a wide variety of disciplines, topics, occupations, hobbies, persons, places, and events that would not ordinarily be covered in the regular curriculum.

Type II Activities ​Type II enrichment consists of materials and methods designed to promote the development of thinking and feeling processes. Some Type II training is general, and is usually carried out both in classrooms and in enrichment programs.

Type III ActivitiesType III enrichment involves students who become interested in pursuing a self-selected area and are willing to commit the time necessary for advanced content acquisition and process training in which they assume the role of a first-hand inquirer.

The goals of Type III enrichment activities include:

providing opportunities for applying interests, knowledge, creative ideas and task commitment to a self-selected problem or area of study,

acquiring advanced level understanding of the knowledge (content) and methodology (process) that are used within particular disciplines, artistic areas of expression and interdisciplinary studies,

developing authentic products that are primarily directed toward bringing about a desired impact upon a specified audience,

developing self-directed learning skills in the areas of planning, organization, resource utilization, time management, decision making and self-evaluation,